“Not all the girls who were there are for hire like that. Most of the regular strippers are human and don’t even know about it. Only the for hire girls live in the apartments behind and above the club. Ms. Elaycia owns the whole building. And we’re all basically one big family.”
Hanna finishes brushing product around my face and starts focusing on specific places. She doesn’t tell me to stop talking so I don’t. I like talking about home.
“Ms. Elaycia is like the mom, Nana is like an old grandmother who pretends to hate everyone but would kill for any of us, and Rosemary has been there the longest and acts like a big sister to everyone. She’s actually a goblin and attended Syngenia with Ms. Elaycia. She showed me her true form once and for all the humans would know they’d have thought she was some elven princess.”
I purse my lips to keep from smiling wide at that. Despite what humans think goblins are not short little green monsters who are mean and cruel. Those are gremlins. Goblins, while some have different colored skin and they do have long sharply pointed ears, look almost ethereal. Like war gods and goddesses.
Defined and sculpted muscles and bodies but celestial features. I can see why most wear enchanted amulets or apparel to make them look more humanly, even here at Syngenia.
Hanna hums as she blends some more and then begins working on my eyelids.
“Then there’s Ana who stays in the attic. She’s like me, an orphan Ms. Elaycia took in. She’s a panther shifter and doesn’t do well around other people, especially males, so Ms. Elaycia let her turn the attic into her own private tower. I would spend a lot of lazy afternoons up there with her reading or painting. She loves concocting new flavors for things – cakes, teas, syrups. I always got first try.
“Cordellia would get second. Jullia reminds me a lot of her. Cordellia is a half-waterway shifter. She can shift her legs into a tail and webbing attaches from her arms to her sides so when her arms are extended she almost looks like a manta ray, but her chest, back, and face stay the same. She told me before that instead of waterway shifters her and her ancestors used to be called Le’af’s. It was the name of the overall race for sirens, mermaids, and most waterway shifters, but she said no one really knows about that name.”
Jullia hums and asks, “Is that why you have so much information about things that aren’t common? I had meant to ask before after our first Magic History class. You knew that Syngenia was first used as a name for the first blood witch and her daughter.”
Hanna stills the brush dusting over my eyelid. “That’s old knowledge,” she hesitantly adds. “Not even the professors are able to openly teach that unless a student explicitly asks. Most things before the War of Gods aren’t commonly known and I think the Mage Board does that on purpose. There’s a reason there aren’t any humans or vampires on the council, and why there isn’t a witch seat anymore.”
Jullia hums again. “Yeah, even Professor Asier was surprised you knew that, Mavyn. Did your bone witch teach you that?”
I slightly shake my head and Hanna grumbles at me.
“No, Nana has taught me a lot and she is older than this university, but she didn’t tell me that. That fact. . . “ I hesitate for a moment as I remember it.
Sometimes if a vampyr is powerful enough and the human they’re turning has a strong enough mind, some memories from the vampyr can transfer over. It’s not common, but it does happen and it’s rare enough that not too many people know about it. I guess I could also blame the poison if anything.
“I think the vampire who shoved the blood and venom into me wanted me to attend this school.” Hanna fully pulls the brush away and I open my eyes to look at them. “He kept repeating the wordsyngeniaas he did everything and afterward I started knowing things. The Mage Board didn’t think I would pass the exam, and I shouldn’t have been able to.”
They both stare at me and for a moment I worry I shouldn’t be telling them this. I’m not outing my secret, and I still have that knowledge so the Mage Board can’t really do anything about it, but there is always a chance they could just say I cheated.
Dropping my shoulders, I decide I don’t care if either of them want to report me. I doubt they will, but I won’t be surprised if they do.
“I’m far from dumb, but my knowledge doesn’t really extend to linear algebra or astrophysics. A day or so after I ingested the blood I also seemed to have gained, whoever the vampyr is, his or her text book knowledge. I don’t know who they are or have received any memories from them, but I have their education. Syngenia being the name of the first blood witch and her daughter was one of them.”
I shrug and discretely pick at my fingers.
“All the rest of the knowledge seemed common enough for the school so I figured that answer would have been obvious.”
Both sisters make the exact same face at the exact same time. Slightly tilting their heads while peering at me as I know their minds are working.
“You are quite the paradox,” Jullia hums. Hanna’s face says she agrees but she doesn’t say anything as she lifts her brush back up and I close my eyes letting her finish.
It takes Hanna about thirty minutes to finish with my face and when she’s done it feels just as heavy as it always does when I have makeup on. Like there’s a skin tight mask over my face.
She looks happy enough though as she marvels at her work. “Those boys are going to die when they see you like this and you threaten to sick your bone witch grandmother on them.”
Jullia marvels at my face too and smirks at Hanna’s words.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”
Eight
Castiel – August 12
Of all the forms I can shift into, it’s always the smaller ones that annoy me the most. Only because it takes immensely more concentration and power to transform my body.
Larger animals and creatures – no problem. But the second I need to shift into something smaller than a wolf expect a five minute delay and my grouchy ass.